I tried to read the entire post by Wilfried, but couldn't. I usually cannot. Maybe I have ADD, or maybe Wilfried's just a loquacious bore.

But it reminds me of the main reason (besides taxes) that I find the European notion of government to be so deeply offensive to my values--religious and otherwise. The problem isn't that the bureaucracy did the wrong thing. The problem is that the bureaucracy had any say at all. Sure it feels good to say, "We need to protect the children." But bureaucrocies are a blunt instrument ill suited for the delicate task of child-rearing.

I'm reminded of an essay by one of the most talented essayists of our time, Florence King. She talks wrote it in honor of her "adopted sister." It's describes a better time, when people did not find it inconceivable to trust well intentioned non-bureaucrats with the future of a child. The essay is online here.